New Solutions Are Necessary For Success In Chemical Manufacturing

The chemical industry is characterized by process-based manufacturing, high capital intensity, and long investment cycles. Over the longer term, capital is deployed for R&D or capacity expansion, while, over the shorter term, resources are targeted to increase productivity and reduce costs. This process has kept the industry stable because their conservative response to change was sufficient. Over the last several decades, however, the pace of change outside the firm’s sphere of control has been unprecedented. Changes in regulation, competition, supply, demand, and technology pose greater chances for disruption in ever shorter periods of time. At some point, a company’s inability to respond within an acceptable window to the pace of change of external factors will begin to exponentially add risk.

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